The Fundamentalism Matrix: A Tool for Defining, Mapping, and Operationalizing Fundamentalism

Fundamentalism as a social phenomenon is complex and multilayered, and its definition is politically contested. Neither in academic nor in ordinary language use is there much agreement on how one should employ and define the term fundamentalism. In this chapter, on the basis of a scoping review of definitions of fundamentalism in the literature between 1996 and 2020, the authors introduce the fundamentalism matrix, a tool to map the complexity and many layers of the notion of fundamentalism and, potentially, related notions such as extremism. The fundamentalism matrix consists of six domains—historical, social, political, normative, metaphysical, and epistemic—and five dimensions—belief, behavioral, emotional, goal, and structural—each of which is explained in detail. The fundamentalism matrix is helpful in comparing rival definitions of fundamentalism, instrumental in controversies over what the scope of the term fundamentalism should be, and pivotal in operationalizing the notion of fundamentalism and evaluating existing operationalizations.